Front brake calipers jammed.pls help

[raz535]

My sons Honda300 has no front brakes, we have bled and bled, and get very lttle response.?(we used a medical syringe and plastic pipe, it works great, getting every little airbubble out)

There is a little meat on the pads still, but on trying to sevice the calipers i found that the 2 pins that go through the pads, are locked solid, its got a allen key head, but i have tried several, inclding the star head, hammered them in there, and it just strips the metal away, but that bolt stays stuck.
The piston on one of the calipers seems to be jammed.

Anyone have any ideas, i have tried DWF to loosen the thread, but no joy.
I also tried my calipers off my KFX400, they are almost identical to the Hondas, and should work fine

Your help will be appreciated

russel

[duke416ex]

The pins can be apain to get out, they are just there to hold the pads in place and let them slide back and forth. They sholdn't be preventing them from working. Good luck getting them out. If you do get them apart, take the piston out and clean them real good, that should help free them up and give you a little more stopping power, and if the pads are close to gone, you might as well replace them. If you can't get the pins out, I would check ebay to find some new calipers.

[svahle]

In my opinion the pins can affect performance. I have seen the pins corrode and rust such that they are not smooth. This can keep the pads from slidding. If the pads do not slide together, the pad will not be flush against the rotor and will decrease the brake's efficiency. Also, if the pads can't relax when the brake is not being applied, it can cause the pads to wear excessively. If you get the pins out, sand them smooth and grease them up before reinstalling them.

No doubt the pins can be a problem. Have you tried letting the entire caliper soak (submerged) in a solvent for a day or two. PB Blaster works wonders. With the caliper off the quad you might be able to grasp the pin (between the pads) with needle nose vice-grips. Use an allen wrench in addition to the vice-grips. Maybe you could break them loose that way.

Good luck

[duke416ex]

I would think if the pins are that bad you would want to replace them entirely, and that more than just the pins are probably corroded in that situation.

I do agree PB Blaster is good stuff. Try to find it and see if t helps, like he said sometimes you can just let it soak for a while and it will break lose.

[Aceman]

I've had an idea I've been meaning to try for a while on stuck 400ex caliper pin, but it should work almost any caliper I think.

You'll need a welder, a new caliper pin, and I'm guessing a 5/16 hex nut. Never tried this but I'm almost positive it would work, this is a last ditch effort.

Cut the caliper pin between the pads leaving just enough room to slide the hex nut on between the cut end of the pin and the caliper. Pound the smooth unthreaded end of the pin out getting it out of the way, remove the brake pads, now slide a hex nut(5/16?) over the remaining stuck pin and weld it at the cut end of the pin. Now crank on the nut to try and back the caliper pin out, maybe use a flare nut wrench, rather than an open end wrench for more grip. As soon as the threaded end of the pin is out, simply cut the hex nut off allowing complete removal of the pin. You should keep the threads soaked in PB Blaster during this whole process. I've removed a lot of stuck fasteners with heat and PB. Once it breaks loose, go back and forth(tightening and loosening) all the while keeping it soaked with PB until it comes out. This will help save the caliper threads. This is a bit more work than most people usually invest into something like this, but if you have the tools or know someone who does..................why not?;)

Good luck.